Starting an appeal where the school manages its own appeals- any point?

[NickNacks]

Ok briefly fill you in...

This is a middle school application (so we are moving into year 5). We have 4 schools in our LA and applied for A B and C on our preference form. School B was our catchment school although geographically not the closest (complex but true- can expand if needed).

We've been allocated D. The awful, massive school which everyone in the LA gets swept into if they don't get their preference. Hardly anyone actually chooses it first place.

We think we have a good chance (maybe?) on the waiting list for this school B due to a friend getting in who lives relatively close and on the same criteria.

However we have also been told that there is no harm in appealing. This would be based on DS being a very nervous child, emotional and we feel the smaller school would give him fantastic pastoral care.

The thing is (eventually gets to the point!) this school B manages their own admission and appeals. Surely they are always going to side with themselves. Any point in even trying?

Just to confirm many schools are their own admission authority but actually use the Local Authority when it comes to appeals because of the all the hassle and paperwork it generates. So as Tiggytape says it will be independent and you should appeal, you have nothing to loose.
I would however say that you do need to accept school D, as your back up situation, although I accept that you do not want the place. If it all goes wrong you could end up with another school even further away.

Thank you, both very helpful.

We have already accepted school D as I know it can't affect our appeal and/ or waiting list chances (I hope I'm right on that!).

Our appeal will also be based on the fact that school B is a church school (currently at a church school) and school D is not. We have spoken to his HT this morning and she is very supportive of our appeal, believing school B is the right choice for DS. She will help us write a statement to explain why he will be an asset to the school and it would not be detrimental to the other children. He has not been referred to CAMHS so not sure if we'll have strong enough grounds to win but we have to try.

Any other ideas/ advice?

Yes you're right. HT didn't actually say she would write that it wouldn't be detrimental to the school. I paraphrased because she actually said she would add a sentence about his excellent behaviour and we should mention we feel he would be an asset rather than a burden. I realise they will say they are full. I also want to add a bit about his academic strengths (very bright in maths and has represented his school at county level) which I feel school B can provide better support to extend his learning.

I've heard we can dispute the PAN excuse of they have exceeded it in past years. Do you know if that includes past appeals won or statemented children? We know of another child who hasn't got in who is hoping to appeal with a statement. Does this give our case any positive or negative weight? If they win and exceed the PAN and then another child drops out, does this mean the place won't be offered to the waiting list because the PAN will still be met? Where can we find out this info about past years PAN? The LA keep referring us to the school but I'm worried about bombarding them with questions and they'll realise it's because we are gathering info for an appeal. Eek!

Just to clarify we are talking about middle school here so years 5,6,7,8. I presume all the advice is the same.

The other child isn't currently statemented but hoping to be soon according to mum.

I guess all I can now is finger crossed. I'm mentally so worn out already by this all. I never dreamed I would be in this position. :(

You can ignore the other child who may be statemented. Until they are, they are just another child - the school can't use their knowledge that there (may be) a child with a Statement coming soon, to reject your case.

Having said that, get your appeal in as soon as possible, so that their number is only at PAN and not PAN+1

There will be an interesting issue over this pupil who might or might not get a statement. The rules say that a pupil with a statement applying for a place at the normal time of entry to the school will be part of the PAN of the school. Whereas if it is at a different time of entry they come in over and above the PAN. I think that the normal admission round has taken place and therefore this pupil should automatically be given a place over the PAN.
OP are you making an assumption that they would have to go to appeal or is this something that has already been decided that they have to go to appeal?

They don't have a statement at this stage but are starting off the appeals process citing a statement is in the pipeline. I guess if the statement comes in the meantime, then they won't need to complete the appeal.

Until a Statement has been finalised, it isn't in force. Parents don't get asked to name a school until the proposed Statement is sent out, so right now, the school doesn't officially know that there will be a Statement naming them, even if the parents have made it clear that it is their intention to do so.

The other family shouldn't win an appeal on the basis that a statement is in the pipeline. The appeal panel will know that a place will be awarded automatically if the statement comes through naming the school so there is absolutely no reason for them to award a place in advance of the statement. They can, of course, cite their child's problems and show that this is the right school for him/her but the fact a statement may be in the pipeline is irrelevant.

I'm trying not to get too caught up in the other family's battle. It hopefully shouldn't affectbud in any way and if it does then it doesn't sound like I can do much about it.

We have been asked to address our appeal to the Head Govenor within four weeks and it will not be looked at until those four weeks are up. This ties in with the acceptances/declines and the waiting list opening. So far we've had no response to our questions though so I hope they hurry up because I want to get it written.

Any ideas on how long and what I should cover aside from the reasons. Anything to avoid? Thanks.

I've emailed the school (Sunday) asking for information for my appeal but no response so far. How long is reasonable to give them to respond? I'm anxious to get it in to them.

Don't worry about having all the information before you submit your appeal. You can just submit an outline argument now and add to it later. If you are only after information about going over PAN in previous years you don't need to include that in your submission at all. You can bring that up when questioning the school's representative at the hearing.

prh47bridge Do you know how long this initial outline letter should be and how much detail. Is it better to raise just one point or several? We have letters from other people too- should these go in with the initial letter to the chair of governers? Thanks

There are no rules about that. They have to hear your appeal regardless of the case you submit. You can submit evidence up to a few days before the hearing.

The case you submit should be about why this is the right school for your child. Don't worry about undermining the school's case for refusing admission unless you want to argue that a mistake was made. Make the strongest case you can. Make it as long as it needs to be to cover the essential points but not so long the panel will get fed up reading it. And don't make so many points your strongest arguments get lost. Make sure anyone reading it can see what you believe are the strongest parts of your case.

If you want to submit an outline initially you can make it as simple as a list of bullet points highlighting the main points of your case if you want.

Ok twist in the tail, we've been offered a place at school C, 3rd choice on our application. Will accepting this (and I confirmed we can still stay on waiting lists for schools A and B) affect our appeals in any way? Will the school know we have been offered and accepted/declined school C?

No, it won't make a bit of difference. You should accept the place, while maintaining the appeal.

No it's not similar at all. It's more like school D (non-faith) but its a bit smaller and we got a better 'feel' for it. School B is much smaller, faith school which is what we want and our basis for appeal.

Did your Headteacher really tell you that his excellent behaviour, and the fact that you feel he'll be an asset rather than a burden to the new school would be sufficient grounds for an appeal?

I don't mean to sound nasty, but if that's all you've got it's not looking good.

I'm fairly sure I explained our grounds for appeal our based on his need for a small based church school who can provide excellent pastoral care. I won't go into any more detail if that's ok. Nonetheless we have to try even if we are not successful, I need to feel I have done everything we can. I suspect the waiting list will be our saviour and this mornings offer and chat with the admissions lady has exposed just how close we came and were extremely unlucky not to receive any of our schools.